Ethnography

In the film //Napoleon Dynamite//, several cultural, social, and ethnic stereotypes are portrayed or purveyed. These predominantly involve Hispanics, blacks, and whites. Not only do the characters exhibit stereotypes and prejudices, but our analysis suggests that the filmmakers express themselves in ways that imply their own racial and ethnic biases. The name, “Pedro,” is highly stereotypical for a Hispanic boy, which suggests a prejudice held by these filmmakers. Pedro is depicted as being a practitioner of Santeria, the cult of Catholic saint worship; his house is full of votive candles and kitschy religious iconography. Pedro has several cousins who drive around in a classic, maroon metal-flake, low-riding Pontiac Bonneville convertible with a hydraulic independent suspension system which is a trope that implies Mexican immigrant involvement in gang activity. The use of these stereotypes suggests that the filmmakers subscribe to an ideology that includes white-American ethnocentrism: the idea that white Americans are superior to other races and cultures.  // Napoleon Dynamite & Pedro in the school hallway. //
 * Ethnography **

One important scene that appears to draw upon a Hispanic stereotype is Pedro’s use of a piñata as an effigy for Summer Wheatley, his white-Anglo opponent in the school election. Pedro was chastised by the school principle for using the piñata in this manner, which confuses Pedro. He tells Deb, “We do it in Mexico all the time.” This recalls what Snowman, McCown and Biehler (2009) describe as the American notion that foreigners should thoroughly assimilate into American culture (“the melting pot phenomenon,”) and “divest themselves of their old customs, views, allegiances, and rivalries as soon as possible and adopt. . . American ideals, values, and customs,” (2012, p. 144). Pedro is confronted with his community’s lack of the value of cultural pluralism, an idea which, according to Snowman et al., “assumes that societies should maintain different cultures, that every culture within a society should be respected, and that individuals have the right to participate in society without giving up [their] cultural identity,” (2012, p. 144). When we first see Pedro, the principal is condescending, almost derisive, toward the Mexican boy in asking him, in a sarcastic tone, if he knows how to speak English. The idea that a school administrator would mock an immigrant student for his lack of English proficiency is plainly outrageous for many reasons. In an article by Anna Weinstein on the issue of ethics in the classroom, she states, “If there’s a new kid in school, make him feel welcome,” (2012, p. 2). The principal was not showing Pedro respect, nor was he welcoming toward him. As Weinstein reminds us, school staff should never “treat a child with disrespect or disdain. Never crush a child’s spirit,” (2012, p. 2). Such behavior in a real administrator wouldn’t be easy to defend. Sometimes a person is raised with certain prejudices passed down from previous generations. Such legacies can be difficult to overcome, but a high school administrator has a responsibility to be sensitive and sympathetic toward students of every cultural background. In reality, most are trained to be just that. African-American stereotypes in the film are concentrated in the character LaFawnduh. The urban black female fiancée of the tragically white Kip. Kip meets this paramour in an online chat room. The bizarre phonetic spelling of this character’s name makes it racially resonant. It is, first of all, suggestive of the stereotypical observation that many black people have “La” at the beginning of their names. “LaFonda” might have been the more intuitive way to spell her name, but the filmmakers chose to use “duh” as the final syllable when they write it on the card that Kip holds at the bus station, in order to flag down the girl whom, apparently, has never seen him before. This spelling of the name, LaFawnduh, is a not very subtle suggestion by the filmmakers that both the character and the parents who named her are probably unintelligent. The lascivious, “bling”-laden LaFawnduh is an insensitively formulated character from the standpoint of racial justice, and her presence in the film represents a widespread, though usually unspoken, perspective from which many whites may view the black community. It is undeniable that there is an achievement gap between white and African-American students. According to Snowman et al., “Compared with white high school sophomores and seniors, black, Latino, and American Indian students score lower on standardized tests of vocabulary, reading, writing, mathematics. . . and science,” (2012, p. 153). And statistics show that “first-grade children from higher SES [socio-economic status] groups know about twice as many words as lower SES children,” (O’Hara & Pritchard, 2012, p. 2). However, other statistics make it clear that the underlying condition responsible for this state of affairs is poverty and not race or ethnicity. In fact, poverty can be directly linked to poor performance of minority students in general, and not just to that of blacks. In 2008, the percentage of black families living below the poverty level was an astounding 34.4%; the Hispanic community is not far behind at 30.3%; and this compares with an incidence of poverty among whites at 10% (Snowman et al., 2012, p. 152). It is hard to imagine, without resorting to specious (and racist) theories, such as eugenics, how anyone could argue that race and ethnicity are responsible for the achievement gap. But it can be easily demonstrated that poverty affects learning in many ways; for example “low-SES children [are] more likely to live in [a] stressful environment that interferes with studying,” (Snowman et al., 2012, p. 154). Snowman, et al., refers to studies that show that as many as 37% of black children may have levels of lead in their blood high enough to impair cognition; and this condition is directly linked to socio-economic status (p.154). In the light of such mitigating statistics, it seems irresponsible of filmmakers to purvey an unvarnished image of African-American stupidity, such as that of LaFawnduh in //Napoleon Dynamite.// As Snowman et al. suggest, “Learning about the achievements of one’s cultural group will raise self and group esteem,” and have a positive effect on academic achievement (2012, p. 163). This shows how popular media, rather than perpetuating irrational prejudices through characters like LaFawnduh, could be instrumental in improving social conditions by showing realistic, positive images of African-American adolescents. From an ethnographic standpoint, white students, as a class, fair little better than minorities by their depiction in //Napoleon Dynamite//. Candidate for school president, Summer Wheatley, is portrayed as personally disdaining Pedro when he asks her to the school dance. In her campaign against him for president of the student council, Summer resorts to an ethnic stereotype, proclaiming that students should vote for her, unless they want to eat “chimney-chain-guhs” all year long. Summer’s attitude and choice of language reflect a blatant form of what Snowman, et al, refer to when they discuss ethnocentrism and the “melting pot phenomenon” (2012, p. 144). Summer’s disdain for Pedro and his customs indicate that she, like other students at Preston High, feels whites are superior to Pedro. Such prejudicial language as Summer’s is inflammatory and outrageous; it is unlikely that school officials would tolerate it, certainly not in the context of a school election. Nevertheless, the depiction of a white student displaying ethnocentric language and behavior may reflect a sad reality. But there is reason to be encouraged on this front; according to Barbour et al., “Ethnocentrism is less prominent than in previous generations, and most Americans are confident and positive about the ‘tossed salad’ quality of American communities in the 21st century. Multicultural curricula and pointed attempts to foster anti-bias programs have made a positive impact on American schools and neighborhoods,” (2012, p. 2). This trend offers hope that the attitudes and behaviors reflected in //Napoleon Dynamite// and other youth culture films of the 1980s and 90s will one day be seen as anachronisms.